Sunday 21 June 2009 11.50 EDT
First published on Sunday 21 June 2009 11.50 EDT

Two female protesters who challenged police officers for not displaying their badge numbers were bundled to the ground, arrested and held in prison for four days, according to an official complaint lodged today.

The incident was caught on camera, and footage shows officers standing on the women's feet and applying pressure to their necks immediately after the women attempted to photograph a fellow officer who had refused to give his badge number.

The images are likely to fuel concern over the policing of protests, which is already subject to a review by the national police inspectorate and two parliamentary inquiries after the G20 demonstrations and the death of Ian Tomlinson.

Val Swain, 43, and Emily Apple, 33, both mothers with young children, believe they were deliberately targeted for arrest at last year's climate camp demonstration in Kent because they campaign for Fit Watch, a protest group that opposes police surveillance at demonstrations.

The pair were remanded to a women's prison for four days and released only after the demonstration against the Kingsnorth power station had finished. They believe their treatment is symptomatic of the increasingly aggressive approach taken by police at political demonstrations.

Fit Watch activists are opposed to police forward intelligence teams (Fits), the mobile surveillance units that monitor campaigners at demonstrations and meetings. Campaigners affiliated to the group film surveillance officers in action and upload their details to a website.

They also use banners and placards to block the view of police surveillance cameras, which they claim are used to harass and intimidate protesters and gather information for police databases.

The women were quickly identified as members of the group when they appeared at the camp on 8 August last year.

The footage shows them standing near officers from West Yorkshire police, at least four of whom were not showing their badge numbers. A police surveillance unit began filming their interactions with the officers and captured the moment that Apple engaged an officer who was refusing to divulge his badge number.

After the officer's repeated refusals, Apple asked Swain to photograph him. "I'd like a picture of this officer so I can make a complaint," she said. "It's West Yorkshire police – no number."

Moments later, Swain and Apple were wrestled to the ground and placed in stress positions. They were told had been arrested on assault and obstruction charges.

During her arrest, Swain was wrapped with restraint belts before being carried into a police van. An officer placed his hand around Apple's neck, apparently lifting her head for the police surveillance cameras.

A third Fit Watch campaigner, Geoff Cornock, 52, was also arrested and bailed the following day. Charges were later dropped against all three, whose joint complaint to the IPCC alleges that they were unlawfully arrested and detained.

In a statement, Kent police said it recognised people had made complaints but could not comment on individual cases as there was a judicial review under way.